Family Humor

Sofia Khan is just married. But no-one told her life was going to be this way.... Her living situation is in dire straits, her husband Conall is distant and his annoyingly attractive colleague is ringing all sorts of alarm bells. When her mother forces them into a belated wedding ceremony (elopement: you can run, but you can't hide), Sofia wonders if it might be a chance to bring them together. But when it forces Conall to confess his darkest secret, it might just tear them apart.

Patchwork ist mehr als ein Fleckerlteppich! Thessa ist mit ihrem Leben ganz zufrieden, doch als ihr Mann Wolfgang einen Posten als Förster in Voralberg annimmt, bleibt sie mit Sohn Nicky in Wien. Dennoch verbringen die Drei ihre Urlaube nach Möglichkeit gemeinsam. Doch dann verliebt sich Wolfgang in seine Praktikantin und Thessa stellt fest, dass ihr Chef eigentlich ein ebenso angenehmer wie begehrenswerter Mann ist. Sohn Nicky gefällt das gar nicht und als Wolfgang dann noch erfährt, dass er in Hamburg eine fünfzehnjährige Tochter hat, ist das Chaos erst einmal perfekt.

A man of principle Gangadas is very much upset with his manipulative son Jamnadas’ (Sanjay Goradia) dishonesty and easy-money making tactics. Gangadas gets diagnosed of serious illness. However, he refuses to undergo medical treatment with Jamndas’ unethical earnings. Poor Jamnadas sees a ray of hope when he gets an opportunity to participate in reality show that requires him to speak nothing but the truth. The prize money can save his father’s life. What pursues is Jamnadas’ antics to juggle every truth with a lie.

Emily Glass knows she’s neurotic. But she’s got it under control. Sort of. She dons compression socks when she flies (because, you know, deep vein thrombosis) and responds to people routinely overestimating her age with more Lifespin classes and less gluten. Thankfully, she also has David, the wonderful man she’ll soon call husband - assuming they can survive wedding week with her wildly dysfunctional family. Emily’s therapist mother, Marla, who’s been diagnosing her children since they were in diapers, sees their homecoming as the perfect opportunity for long-overdue family therapy sessions. Less enthused are Emily and her two siblings.

Performance artists Caleb and Camille Fang dedicated themselves to making great art. But when an artist's work lies in subverting normality, it can be difficult to raise well-adjusted children. Just ask Buster and Annie Fang. For as long as they can remember, they starred (unwillingly) in their parents' madcap pieces. But now that they are grown up, the chaos of their childhood has made it difficult to cope with life outside the fishbowl of their parents' strange world.

This is a story about a man, his son, and their three-day mission to cheat death. Sometimes funny, often sardonic, with shifting perspectives and unpunctuated dialogue, Nearly Dead in North Dakota is a fast and loose journey through history, science, religion, pop culture, and a closer examination of the kind of world we live in but never get enough time to really think about.

Set in the author’s native Belfast, the ten stories in Sweet Home lay bare the heartbreak and quiet tragedies that run under the surface of everyday lives. A lonely woman is fascinated by her niqab-wearing neighbours; a middle-aged teacher becomes obsessed with a young Gaelic football player; and an employer covers for his two employees caught having sex in a public toilet.

Jesse Few peddles lies. His boss and clients order a couple. His married girlfriend gets a few. His family buys several. But he saves the top-of-the-line dishonesty to sell to himself. The 49-year-old suburban rogue focuses on carousing with his golf buddies, chasing women much too young for him, and surviving the Great Recession that’s raging across the South like it's the Big Banks March to the Sea.

"Zugegeben, die meiste Zeit habe ich mich eher mit der Frage befasst, wie ich nicht Vater werde. Bis ich dieser Frau begegnete." Und nun heißt es plötzlich: Wie wird man eigentlich Vater, wenn man es möchte, aber es nicht auf Anhieb klappt? Und was macht der Prozess mit einem, das Auf und Ab des Hoffens und Bangens, neben und zusammen mit der Frau, die das alles am eigenen Leib erlebt? Ein schmerzvoll-tragisch-urkomischer Bericht aus Männersicht.

Nachdem er und seine Frau lange darum gerungen haben, endlich Eltern zu werden, ist die Schwangerschaft viel zu schnell vergangen. Schwups ist das Kind da – und mit ihm die Frage: "Was für ein Vater will ich eigentlich sein?" So stolpert er durch den Familienalltag mit ganz neuen Fallstricken und Fettnäpfchen – immer mit der Angst im Nacken, von einem Säugling als Versager enttarnt zu werden. Der zweite Band von Melanie Amélie Opalkas "Papa-Trilogie" erzählt den "unausgeschlafenen Imperfekt" seines ersten Jahres mit dem eigenen Nachwuchs.

Twenty-year-old Sibel thought she had concrete plans for the summer. She would care for her grandmother in Istanbul, visit her father's grave, and study for the MCAT. Instead, she finds herself watching Turkish soap operas and self-diagnosing her own possible chronic illness with the four humors theory of ancient medicine. Also on Sibel's mind: her blond American boyfriend who accompanies her to Turkey; her energetic but distraught younger sister; and her devoted grandmother, who, Sibel comes to learn, carries a harrowing secret.

A new species has jumped into the Sol system for a quick look, leading the Stryx to assign humans to the greeting mission. Dorothy and Kevin leave on a trading mission in his new ship, bringing the dog, and Samuel and Vivian start at the Open University.

Ein Date, das höllisch schiefläuft, der nie vergessene Ex taucht auf, und dann mischt sich noch die lästige Familie ein … Dumm gelaufen! Meddelin Chan bringt versehentlich ihr Blind Date um, das ihre übergriffige Mutter für sie organisiert hat. Um die Leiche loszuwerden, bleibt Meddy nichts anderes, als ihre ebenso übergriffigen Tanten zu Hilfe zu rufen. Blöd nur, dass der Tote ausgerechnet bei einer Mega-Hochzeit landet, organisiert von der Hochzeitsagentur ihrer Familie. Als dann noch Nathan auftaucht, Meddys große (EX-)Liebe, wird das Chaos infernalisch.

With a dissolving marriage, strained finances, and her life in flux, Ally Anderson longs for normal. Her greatest concerns, though, are the health problems of her young daughter, Kylie. Symptoms point to a compromised immune system, but every doctor they’ve seen has a different theory. Then comes hope for some clarity. It’s possible that Kylie’s illness is genetic, but Ally is adopted. A DNA test opens up an entirely new path.

In 1962 a pregnant girl staggers into a health clinic, gives birth, and flees. A foster family takes the baby in, and an unlikely couple, their lives unspooling from the recent death of their infant, adopts her. Forty years and many secrets and lies later, Cheri Matzner is all grown up and falling apart. Ironic and fierce, she's a former cop turned disgruntled academic, a frustrated wife trying to get pregnant, an iconoclastic daughter bearing war wounds from her dysfunctional family.

Fern Carlile has a lot on her plate. It's a good thing she loves her big, imperfectly perfect family, because she's the one who washes their pants, de-fleas the dog and runs her own business. A hearty meal is the one thing that brings the Carliles together - but over the course of a year, the various courses also pull them apart. Around the table sits an eight-year-old militant feminist, a pair of teenage accidental parents, and a cantankerous OAP. Fern's husband needs an extra seat for his spectacular midlife crisis.

Liz Millanova has stage four cancer, a grown daughter who doesn’t speak to her, and obsessive memories of a relationship that tore apart her marriage.

Meet Sonny Anderson, funny failed LA Galaxy hopeful, recovering misophonic meth-head and Shaun of the Dead-obsessed survivor. On his 21st birthday, gifted the opportunity of inheriting a life-changing sum of money, Sonny needs answers to a few important questions. For instance, where is his mother? He last saw her age five when his dad kidnapped him and took him to live on a commune in Brazil. His dad claimed to be a spiritual guru, but what kind of man was he really? To find his answers Sonny must leave his home in California and return to the UK, his country of birth.

Was kann denn schon groß schief gehen, wenn man ein zweites Kind bekommen will – vor allem durch künstliche Befruchtung? Zweieinhalb Jahre liegt der erste Versuch zurück, als unser Papa sich erneut traut und zwar gleich doppelt: Denn mit einem weiteren Kind muss ein größeres Heim her und warum dann nicht auch gleich ein Eigenheim? Ob es nun ein, zwei oder vielleicht sogar drei Kinderzimmer sein werden, wie die Stelzen unter das Haus kommen und wie Mann das alles neben Job, Partnerschaft und einem strammen Kleinkind bewältigt … das lernt der Papa auf die harte Tour.

Mike Bittini ist ein Spieler und Streuner, er war es schon immer. Nach siebzehn Jahren on the road kehrt er in seinem alten Ford Escort und den weißen Lederboots zurück nach Wien. Sein Bruder, der erfolgreiche Immobilienanwalt, ist ins Koma gefallen. Nun schleicht sich Mike in Sandros Villa wie der Habicht in den Hühnerstall. Sandros Frau Gloria ist alles andere als erfreut, Mike wiederzusehen. Sie kennt ihn nur zu gut.